For a second year in a row, Arizona Public Service (APS) customers in high-risk fire areas could face temporary power shutoffs under extreme fire weather conditions.
The fire-prevention strategy, known as a “Public Safety Power Shutoff,” cuts power to keep electrical systems from igniting or fueling wildfires. APS officials said shutoffs would only be under certain conditions known as “fire weather,” a combination of plentiful fuels, high heat and high or gusty winds.
The potential shutoffs don’t apply to all Arizona counties.
Last year, APS announced the potential shutoffs for parts of Coconino, Yavapai and Gila counties. This year, APS is expanding the potential shutoffs to portions of two more counties: Navajo and Pinal.
In total, about 80,000 customers could be impacted, up from about 14,000 last year. But not all customers would be impacted at the same time, APS officials said.
The state’s two most populous counties, Maricopa and Pima, are not part of the shutoff map.
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The outages could last up to about 20 hours. So far, APS officials said they have not had to actually shut off power.
Last year, Scott Bordenkircher, APS’s director of forestry and fire mitigation, told the Arizona Corporation Commission he expects power shutdowns to be used “very, very seldomly. But one we are prepared to use if conditions warrant.”
If a shutoff is expected, APS officials said customers will get advanced warning four days before through text, phone calls and emails. They will also work with county emergency-management officials for services such as shelters or cooling centers.
Arizona does not mandate these types of power shutoffs. However, in recent years, some utility companies in states such as Texas, Colorado and Oregon have started similar programs.
The Arizona Corporation Commission, the state agency that regulates APS and many other utilities, was expected to hear a presentation on the shutoffs being expanded at its meeting Thursday, but deferred that discussion until a May 15 meeting.
That meeting, a Wildfire Mitigation Town Hall, is open to the public. It is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. at Payson Public Library, Mogollon Room, 328 N. McLane Road. A link to watch the meeting virtually will also be available on the Arizona Corporation Commission’s website.
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
